Northern Ireland: Victims' Organisations

Lord Glentoran: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	Which victims' organisations in Northern Ireland have received public funding since 10 April 1998; and how much has been allocated to each organisation.

Baroness Amos: Records show that support detailed in the following table below has been allocated to organisations involved in providing support for victims between 10 April 1998 and 31 March 2004.
	In addition to the amounts shown victims' groups may also apply for funding from any programme or scheme, such as the District Council Community Relations Programme or European Union funding through the Local Strategy Partnerships, for which they can satisfy the relevant eligibility criteria.
	
		
			 Victims' Organisation Amount Allocated £ 
			 123 House 127,767 
			 Aisling Centre 122,060 
			 Alanna Consultancy 1,790 
			 An Crann 63,500 
			 Ardoyne Commemoration 9,800 
			 Armagh Voluntary Welfare Group 5,000 
			 Ashton Community Trust 1,327,201 
			 Association for Family Therapy NI 6,100 
			 Ballybone, Belfast 2,100 
			 Ballymoney District Partnership (Victims) 16,000 
			 Ballymurphy Centre 226,232 
			 Bannside Community Group 5,000 
			 Barnardo's 70,050 
			 Base 2 25,375 
			 Befriending and Counselling 4,397 
			 Belfast Cognitive Therapy Centre 54,775 
			 Breaking the Silence 4,998 
			 Community Action for Locally Managed Stress   (CALMS) 493,159 
			 Centre for Creative Energy, Londonderry 1,310 
			 Claudy 9,123 
			 Co Tyrone Frontier Relief Fund 2,000 
			 Coleraine/Ballymoney UDR 118,060 
			 Colleague Support Group 3,100 
			 Columba Community 123,343 
			 Combat Stress 4,000 
			 Community Council 2,240 
			 Community Foundation for Northern Ireland 10,000 
			 Community Relations Council 38,357 
			 Conflict Trauma Resource Centre 73,165 
			 Contact Youth 71,215 
			 Conway Education Centre 2,500 
			 Cookstown Colleague Support 2,165 
			 Corpus Christi Services 387,913 
			 Corrymeela Community 7,500 
			 Cost of the Troubles Study 97,251 
			 CRUSE (Foyle) 35,000 
			 CRUSE Bereavement (NI) 74,915 
			 CRUSE Bereavement Care (Belfast) 28,000 
			 CRUSE (Causeway) 2,500 
			 Cumann Tar Abhaile 22,171 
			 Cunamh 415,688 
			 Dairy Farm Jobclub 102,410 
			 Democratic Dialogue 7,485 
			 Derry and Raphoe Action 61,000 
			 Derry City Council 2,500 
			 Derry Well Women 62,356 
			 Disabled Police Officers Association (DPOA) 161,447 
			 Divis Centre 1,005 
			 Eastern Health & Social Services Board Trauma   Advisory Panel 99,590 
			 Families of the Displaced, Dispersed and   Disappeared (FODDD) 117,836 
			 Families Achieving Change Together (FACT) 431,882 
			 Families Acting for Innocent Relatives (FAIR) 553,165 
			 Families for Truth and Justice 800 
			 Family Trauma Centre 704,062 
			 Fermanagh College 69,600 
			 Fermanagh South Tyrone Terrorist Victims   Association 96,738 
			 Firinne 248,078 
			 Friends of WAVE 2,304 
			 Give Innocent Victims Equality (GIVE) 5,200 
			 Glencree LIVE Programme—The Restorick Group 750 
			 Greater Belfast Community Network 96,710 
			 Greater Twinbrook and Poleglass Community   Forum 10,000 
			 Healing Through Remembering 10,000 
			 Help and Advice with Victims Every Need   (HAVEN) 114,687 
			 Holy Trinity 130,787 
			 Holywell Trust 16,329 
			 Homes United by Ruthless Terrorism (HURT) 151,100 
			 HOPE 500 
			 Innocence, Truth and Justice 980 
			 Institute for Counselling and Personal Development   (ICPD) 579,552 
			 Interact 5,000 
			 Interchurch Group on Faith and Politics 600 
			 Irish Peace Institute 6,000 
			 Koram Centre 97,184 
			 Lenadoon Community Counselling Project 216,409 
			 Lifeline 14,000 
			 Lifeways Psychotherapy and Counselling Centre 252,211 
			 Lisburn Prisoners Support Project 111,349 
			 Loughgall Truth and Justice Campaign 7,200 
			 Lower North Belfast Community Group 2,000 
			 Make Your Mark 57,838 
			 Mid Ulster Survivors Trust 1,000 
			 Mourne Action for Survivors of Terrorism (MAST) 36,225 
			 New Life Counselling Service 284,561 
			 Nexus Institute 22,392 
			 NI Association for Mental Health 95,824 
			 NI Memorial Fund 6,926,578 
			 NI Music Therapy Trust 29,284 
			 NI Prison Service 600 
			 NICRA 1,000 
			 North and West Belfast Trust 20,000 
			 Northern Health & Social Services Board Trauma   Advisory Panel 101,500 
			 NI Centre for Trauma and Transformation   (NICTT) 1,500,000 
			 NOVA 320,489 
			 Omagh Independent Advice Services 31,657 
			 Omagh Support and Self Help Group 17,740 
			 Passionist Youth 94,800 
			 Pat Finucane Centre 10,376 
			 Police Rehabilitation and Retraining Trust 20,000 
			 Positive Action 91,218 
			 Prison Service Trust 64,160 
			 Regimental Association UDR 63,839 
			 Relatives for Justice 778,497 
			 Royal National Institute for the Deaf (RNID) 280,787 
			 Rural Network 2,000 
			 Seeds of Hope 2,500 
			 Shankhill Stress and Trauma Group 463,596 
			 Sligo Presbyterian 6,000 
			 South Down Action for Healing Wounds   (SDAHW) 184,973 
			 South East Fermanagh Foundation 92,220 
			 South Tyrone Empowerment Programme 9,995 
			 South West Community Victims 5,000 
			 South/North Armagh Victims Encouraging   Recognition (SAVER/NAVER) 481,516 
			 Southern Health & Social Services Board Trauma   Advisory Panel 114,220 
			 Sperrin Lakeland Trust 12,132 
			 Springhill Community House 167,621 
			 Springvale Training 106,262 
			 Stepping Stone, Craigavon 55,000 
			 Stewartstown and District Support Group 1,110 
			 Strabane Befriending and Counselling Association 243,609 
			 Streetbeat Youth Project 135,908 
			 Sub Committee for Victims 216,121 
			 Support, Training, Education, Employment,   Research (STEER) Mental Health 120,521 
			 Survivors of Trauma 637,260 
			 Tar Anall 113,300 
			 Tar Isteach 141,650 
			 Tara Counselling and Personal Development   Company Ltd 353,384 
			 The Bloody Sunday Trust 84,765 
			 The Church's Ministry of Healing 18,000 
			 The Cross Group 11,395 
			 The Ely Centre 142,757 
			 The Royal British Legion (Upperlands Branch) 2,000 
			 The Samaritans, Belfast 8,000 
			 The Samaritans, Coleraine 7,000 
			 The Wider Circle 158,998 
			 Threshold 3,000 
			 Towards Healing and Understanding 5,500 
			 United Services Club 81,073 
			 Victims Support (NI) 52,000 
			 Victims and Survivors Trust (VAST) 343,612 
			 VOICE 24,900 
			 Voices Women's Group 17,054 
			 WAVE 3,139,214 
			 West Belfast Cross Community Partnership 48,700 
			 West Tyrone Voice (WTV) 489,172 
			 Western Enterprise Social Legal and Educational   Victims Trust 3,950 
			 Western Health & Social Services Board Trauma   Advisory Panel 135,491 
			 Women Together 11,641 
			 Yes! 5,000 
			 Total 27,957,111 
		
	
	Note:
	The Community Foundation for Northern Ireland (formerly NIVT) also received £1,123,324 through the EU Special Programme for Peace and Reconciliation (Peace I) which supported victims of violence. The foundation allocated these funds in support of a number of projects for both ex-offenders and victims. Persons from these groups could benefit from the same project and it is not possible to disaggregate the assistance between the two groups.

Northern Ireland: Equality and Human Rights Commissions

Lord Laird: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	How many commissioners they have appointed to the Equality Commission and the Northern Ireland Human Rights Commission since March 1999; how many staff each body has employed since that date; and whether, for each body, they will state the gender, age, ethnic origins and community background of these staff and the part of Northern Ireland (if any) with which they regard themselves as being most closely associated.

Baroness Amos: Both the Equality Commission and the Northern Ireland Human Rights Commission are independent bodies and as a result are responsible for recruiting their own staff.
	The chief commissioners to both bodies have been asked to write to the noble Lord.
	I can provide the details requested for the commissioners of both bodies.
	Equality Commission for Northern Ireland
	
		Commissioners appointment since August 1999
		
			 Name Appointed Status 
			 Joan Harbison 
			 Chief Commissioner August 1999 Currently Serving 
			 Bronagh Hinds 
			 Deputy Chief Cmr August 1999 Term Ended July 2003 
			 Anne O'Reilly 
			 Deputy Chief Cmr August 2003 Currently Serving 
			 Jeremy Bryson August 1999 Term Ended July 2003 
			 Annie Campbell August 2003 Currently Serving 
			 Brian Carlin August 2003 Currently Serving 
			 Harry Coll August 1999 Currently Serving 
			 Rosemary Connolly August 1999 Resigned April 2002 
			 Paul Donaghy August 1999 Term Ended July 2003 
			 Eileen Evason August 2003 Currently Serving 
			 Tom Haverty August 2003 Currently Serving 
			 Alan Henry August 1999 Currently Serving 
			 John Heron August 1999 Resigned Nov 2002 
			 Ann Hope August 1999 Currently Serving 
			 Ruth Lavery August 1999 Currently Serving 
			 Stephen Livingstone August 1999 ** 
			 Margaret Logue August 1999 Currently Serving 
			 Harry McConnell August 1999 Currently Serving 
			 Shahid Malik August 1999 Term Ended Jul 2002 
			 Robin Mullan August 1999 Resigned Apr 2003 
			 Robert Osborne August 1999 Currently Serving 
			 Michael Rea August 2003 Currently Serving 
			 Audrey Steele August 2003 Currently Serving 
			 Richard Steele August 1999 Term Ended July 2002 
			 Daphne Trimble August 2003 Currently Serving 
			 Anna Watson (now Lo) August 1999 Term Ended July 2002 
			 Derick Wilson August 2003 Currently Serving 
			 Monica Wilson August 1999 Term Ended July 2003 
			 Noreen Wright August 1999 Term Ended July 2003 
		
	
	** Missing since 20 March 2004.
	Northern Ireland Human Rights Commission
	
		Commissioners
		
			  
			 Commissioner Appointed Status 
			 Brice Dickson 1 March 1999 Currently Serving 
			 Christine Bell 1 March 1999 Resigned 
			 Margaret-Ann Dinsmore 1 March 1999 Currently Serving 
			 Tom Donnelly 1 March 1999 Currently Serving 
			 Harold Good 1 March 1999 Term Ended29 Febuary 2004 
			 Tom Hadden 1 March 1999 Currently Serving 
			 Angela Hegarty 1 March 1999 Resigned 
			 Patricia Kelly 1 March 1999 Currently Serving 
			 Inez McCormack 1 March 1999 Resigned 
			 Frank McGuinness 1 March 1999 Term Ended29 Febuary 2004 
			 Christine Eames 1 December 2001 Currently Serving 
			 Christopher McGimpsey 1 December 2001 Resigned 
			 Kevin McLaughlin 1 December 2001 Currently Serving 
			 Patrick Yu 1 December 2001 Resigned

Republic of Ireland: Official Languages Act

Lord Laird: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	Further to the Written Answer by the Lord President on 10 June (WA 42) concerning the Republic of Ireland's Official Languages Act 2003, what is meant by "occur in the Republic of Ireland".

Baroness Amos: The phrase "occur in the Republic of Ireland" was used in reference to the activities of the implementation bodies in the Republic of Ireland. The Government consider that the phrase is self-explanatory.

Belfast Agreement: Citizenship

Lord Laird: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	What discussions they have had with the Eire Government prior to the Eire Government amending the Belfast Agreement of 1998 in the area of citizenship.

Baroness Amos: The Irish Government have not amended the Belfast agreement in any area. The referendum on Irish citizenship held on 11 June does not amend the Belfast agreement; both Governments have agreed a joint interpretative declaration confirming this.

Belfast Agreement: Citizenship

Lord Laird: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	What representations they made to the Eire Government regarding the rights of British citizens, resident in Eire, to vote in the Irish referenda.

Baroness Amos: Her Majesty's Government have not recently made any such representation.

Northern Ireland: Ulster-Scots Agency

Lord Laird: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	In the event that additional resources are made available to North/South ministerial bodies during this financial year, whether the Ulster-Scots Agency will be given priority, as its initial requirements were not met.

Baroness Amos: The 2004 budgets for each of the North/South implementation bodies have been jointly agreed by the two governments, in accordance with the arrangements under the agreements made by the exchange of notes between the two governments dated 19 November 2002. The provision of additional resources, above the amounts agreed in the budgets, would be considered only in response to new and specific pressures. Such issues must be the subject of a specific request from the relevant body to its sponsoring department, and it would then be considered in the context of the body's business plan for the year in question, the resource availability at the time and other competing priorities.

City Acadamies

Baroness Sharp of Guildford: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	Whether city academies which take over inner city secondary schools are subject to transfer of undertakings protection of employment rules in relation to staff employment.

Baroness Ashton of Upholland: Yes. Transfer of Undertakings (Protection of Employment) Regulations 1981 (TUPE) has applied in all the open academies directly replacing predecessor schools.

City Acadamies

Baroness Sharp of Guildford: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	Which city acadamies' establishments have been agreed to date, and what is the respective contributions to their cost, including land values, from (a) sponsors; and (b) the public sector.

Baroness Ashton of Upholland: To date 26 academy projects have funding agreements in place with the Secretary of State. Details of these academies and the capital costs of each are set out in the table below. Academies' recurrent funding is comparable with funding for maintained schools, with similar characteristics, within the LEAs in which they are situated. LEAs, or in some cases church authorities, provide the land on which academies are established, at no cost to the academy.
	
		£
		
			 Sponsors provide funding of up to £2 milliontowards the initial capital costs.Academy: Name CapitalContributionin: Sponsors CapitalContributionin: DfES 
			 Open Academies 
			 The Business Academy, Bexley inc. primary 
			 wing 2,450,000 35,866,940 
			 Greig City Academy, Haringey 2,000,000 14,479,000 
			 Unity City Academy, Middlesbrough 2,000,000 18,590,000 
			 Capital City Academy, Brent 2,000,000 25,516,105 
			 The City Academy, Bristol 2,599,000 25,067,644 
			 The West London Academy, Ealing 2,000,000 27,726,458 
			 Manchester Academy 2,000,000 13,291,971 
			 The King's Academy, Middlesbrough 2,000,000 20,301,106 
			 Djanogly City Academy, Nottingham 0 21,236,359 
			 City of London (Southwark) Academy 2,000,000 31,685,332 
			 The Academy at Peckham, Southwark 2,000,000 26,219,539 
			 The Walsall City Academy 2,500,000 15,721,463 
			 Academies in Implementation 
			 London Academy, Barnet 1,500,000 29,898,939 
			 Mossbourne Community Academy, 
			 Hackney 2,150,000 25,823,726 
			 Stockley Academy, Hillingdon 2,000,000 23,809,685 
			 Lambeth Academy, Lambeth 2,000,000 25,450,000 
			 Northampton Academy 2,000,000 25,359,196 
			 Trinity Academy, Doncaster 2,000,000 22,769,433 
			 Harefield Academy, Hillingdon 1,500,000 23,852,463 
			 Marlowe Academy, Kent 2,462,000 24,978,111 
			 Haberdashers' Aske's Hatcham College 
			 Academy, Lewisham 704,500 6,340,500 
			 Haberdashers' Aske's Knights Academy, 
			 Lewisham 295,500 38,109,500 
			 Academy of St Francis of Assisi, Liverpool 2,000,000 16,196,030 
			 David Young Community Academy, 
			 Leeds 2,357,397 18,348,993 
			 Sandwell Academy, Sandwell 2,000,000 24,156,066 
			 Grace Academy, Solihull 2,000,000 26,881,398

City Acadamies

Baroness Sharp of Guildford: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	Whether "ownership" of a city academy by a sponsor implies ownership of the land and buildings and other assets; and if so whether sponsors will retain ownership and development rights on the assets in the event of the subsequent failure of the academy.

Baroness Ashton of Upholland: Ownership of any existing buildings or land required for the establishment of an academy is transferred from the current owner, usually the local education authority, to the academy trust before an academy opens. The academy trust is a charitable trust set up by the sponsor which is responsible for the building and running of the academy. Should the academy close, ownership of the land and buildings would revert to the previous owner.

City Acadamies

Baroness Sharp of Guildford: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	What qualifications are sought from sponsors of city academies to ensure that they are qualified to set the terms and conditions for the employment of teachers.

Baroness Ashton of Upholland: Academies are replacing schools which have failed to provide an adequate education for pupils over a long period, often despite a number of attempts to turn them around. The private, voluntary and faith sector sponsors of academies bring with them a wide range of skills, experience and success. Academies have the freedom to set terms and conditions for their staff and we back sponsors to make a success of academies where all else has failed.

City Acadamies

Baroness Sharp of Guildford: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	What safeguards are in place to ensure that sponsors of city academies serve the best interests of the pupils, bearing in mind the role and influence of sponsors in these academies.

Baroness Ashton of Upholland: Most academies are replacing schools which have failed to provide an adequate education for their pupils. All trustees of an academy are bound by charitable law to act in the best interests of the academy. The funding agreement for each academy sets out the framework under which the academy operates, including having admissions arrangements which comply with the code of practice and teaching the national curriculum core subjects. The funding agreement also sets out a range of interventions that the Secretary of State can implement where an academy is in breach of its funding agreement or where he has concerns about its management or performance.
	Academies are also inspected by Ofsted in the fifth or sixth term after they open and thereafter on the same basis as other maintained schools.

School Playing Fields

Lord Moynihan: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	How many applications each year since 1998 have been made by schools for permission to change the use of school playing fields and team game playing fields, detailing the decision in each case.

Baroness Ashton of Upholland: Section 77 of the School Standards and Framework Act 1998 requires a local authority to obtain the consent of the Secretary of State for Education and Skills before either disposing, or changing the use, of any school playing field. Section 77 applies where the playing fields are used by a maintained school, or have been used for the purposes of such a school at any time during the preceding 10 years. Consent is not required, however, where the land in question, after the change of use, becomes used in connection with the provision, by a local authority, of educational facilities for a maintained school, or any recreational facilities. A local authority, therefore, may build permanent classrooms, install mobile classrooms or build an indoor leisure centre on playing fields without the need for consent.
	The table below shows, for each year since 1998, the number of applications that would result in the loss of school playing fields which are capable of forming at least a small sports pitch of 2,000 m 2 , together with the outcome of those applications. The figures in brackets indicate the number of applications for a change of use where there was no disposal.
	
		
			 Year Number ofapplications Number ofapplications withdrawn Number ofapplications approved Number ofapplications rejected Number ofapplications not yetdetermined 
			 1998 26(0) 3 21 2 0 
			 1999 47(4) 9 37 0 1 
			 2000 31(3) 2 29 0 0 
			 2001 30(2) 5 23 0 2 
			 2002 36(1) 10 22 0 4 
			 2003 23(0) 3 13 0 7 
			 2004 5(0) 0 1 0 4 
			 Total 198(10) 32 146 2 18

School Playing Fields

Lord Moynihan: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	How many applications for an easement in the minimum requirement for playing fields have been made by schools for each year since 1998, detailing the decision in each case.

Baroness Ashton of Upholland: The Education (School Premises) Regulations 1999 set out the minimum area of team game playing fields that local authorities should provide for schools. The minimum area of team game playing fields depends on the number and age range of pupils attending the school.
	In certain cases, the Secretary of State for Education and Skills can agree to relax the minimum standards but only under circumstances set out in Section 543 of the Education Act 1996. Briefly, these circumstances are:
	(i) where it would be unreasonable to require conformity because of the nature of the existing site;
	(ii) where there is a shortage of suitable sites;
	(iii) in order to control public expenditure where the school is to move to a new site, and
	(iv) where other sports facilities are available to the school; for example, leisure and sports centres, all-weather pitches and sports halls, etc.
	Schools that did not meet the minimum standard when the regulations were introduced were deemed to have an agreed relaxation to those standards. They must, however, apply for a further relaxation if they make any change to the size or layout of their team game playing fields. This means that even where there is a net increase in the size and range of sports pitches, schools still need to apply to have the standards relaxed if the new layout does not meet the minimum standards.
	There were no central figures collected before 2000. The table below shows, by year, the number of applications to relax school playing field standards under Section 543 to the Education Act 1993 that have been approved since 2000. There is no need to record unsuccessful applications.
	
		
			 Year Number of applications 
			 2000 17 
			 2001 15 
			 2002 13 
			 2003 8 
			 2004 1 
			 Total 54

Alcohol-related Crime

Lord Avebury: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	What steps they are taking to measure the effects of the campaign on alcohol crime hotspots announced by the Home Office on 8 July; and whether they will publish statistics showing the number of offences of violence against the person, ambulance call-outs and admissions at accident and emergency departments arising from incidents occurring on or in the vicinity of licensed premises in the 77 areas concerned, during the eight-week period chosen for the campaign, and for the same period in 2003.

Baroness Scotland of Asthal: The Alcohol Misuse Enforcement Campaign is a key component of the Government's Alcohol Harm Reduction Strategy for England that was published on 15 March 2004. The campaign aims to send a strong message that alcohol related violence will not be tolerated and to raise awareness of the issues affecting police and partners and our communities in towns and cities across England and Wales. Its success will be judged as part of the wider programme of work set out in the Government's strategy for tackling alcohol related harm. We will also be collecting a range of data to measure success, such as the numbers of fixed penalty notices issued and the numbers of licensees selling to underage persons. We are working with the Department of Health to ensure that accident and emergency departments collect data on alcohol-related admissions where possible. We will be publishing aggregated data from participating areas at regular intervals throughout the campaign.

UK Sport: British Olympic Association Funding

Lord Moynihan: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	What level of funding UK Sport will allocate to the British Olympic Association for programmes related to élite performance.

Lord McIntosh of Haringey: UK Sport provides both lottery and Exchequer funding support to the British Olympic Association (BOA) for programmes related to élite sport. It has recently agreed a lottery funding award of £800,000 (less VAT payable by BOA) to support the preparation camps that the BOA has established in Barcelona and Cyprus. This is a natural extension to the WCPP investment already made by UK Sport.
	In addition, UK Sport also provides Exchequer support to the BOA towards the Olympic Sports Development fund to help pay for travel and training costs of lower priority Olympic sports. For 2004–05, a grant for £27,333 has been provided.
	UK Sport also provides Exchequer funding to the BOA to manage the Athlete Medical Scheme (AMS) as a contracted out service and the OPEN (Olympic Paralympic Employment Network) programme. A budget of around £430,000 has been set aside by UK Sport for 2004–05 for these two progammes.

UK Sport: British Olympic Association Funding

Lord Moynihan: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	Whether the funding allocated to the British Olympic Association by UK Sport will be subject to the same level of scrutiny with regard to corporate governance and financial accountability as that body applies to sports national governing bodies.

Lord McIntosh of Haringey: UK Sport will scrutinise the exchequer funding provided to the British Olympic Association (BOA) in the same manner as it would any other organisation that it funds. In addition the lottery funding support for the BOA is subject to the same terms and conditions that UK Sport applies across all its lottery awards.

UK Sport: British Olympic Association Funding

Lord Moynihan: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	Whether there is any intention to reduce the number of élite athletes in receipt of UK Sport world class performance funding over the next four-year Olympic cycle; and what level of financial support for Olympic performance comes directly from the Department for Culture, Media and Sport's budget for sport.

Lord McIntosh of Haringey: The number of athletes on the World Class Performance Programme is determined by the relevant national governing bodies of sport using performance and selection criteria agreed with UK Sport.
	After the Athens Olympiad, UK Sport will begin its work with the national governing bodies to identify the optimum number of athletes to be supported in each sport.
	For the financial year 2003–04, DCMS made available £27.525 million in Exchequer funding to UK Sport, of which £9.6 million was invested to support athletes on the WCPP.

UK Sport: British Olympic Association Funding

Lord Moynihan: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	Which budgets at UK Sport are being targeted to deliver funds to world-class performance funding; what total funding has been diverted to date; and what plans they have to divert funds over the next four-year Olympic cycle.

Lord McIntosh of Haringey: The Department for Culture, Media and Sport has provided UK Sport with the flexibility to manage the prioritisation and targeting of the total amount of lottery and Exchequer funding it receives to deliver its goals. UK Sport has therefore used a combination of its Exchequer funding and lottery funding to provide the necessary funding to their World Class Performance Programme (WCPP). In addition to the lottery funding UK Sport invests into the WCPP. It has also invested Exchequer funding of £3.3 million and £3.5 million of the financial years 2003–04 and 2004–05 respectively.

Public Libraries

Lord Harrison: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	How many visitors to public libraries and how many book loans there were in the year 2003–04; and whether these figures represent an increase on the figures for 2002–03.

Lord McIntosh of Haringey: The figures requested for 2003–04 are not yet available. However, as the effects of the People's Network are felt more fully, we expect to see the upward trend in library visits reported in 2002–03 continue into 2003–04.
	Although the number of library book loans continued to decline in 2002–03, the rate of decline slowed from previous years. We hope to be able to draw encouragement similarly from the comparable 2003–04 figures when available.

Public Libraries

Lord Harrison: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	Whether they are satisfied with the speed and efficiency of the collection and publication of statistics on the number of visitors to public libraries and the number of book loans.

Lord McIntosh of Haringey: The provision of timely and efficient provision of key public library data is important and the Committee on Public Library Statistics regularly looks for ways to enhance the delivery of these.
	Neverthless, the numbers of vists to public libraries and of book loans are only two of the statistics collected by the Chartered Institute of Public Finance and Accountancy (CIPFA) to inform, not only government, but also library authorities themselves. Given that this entails gathering a wide range of data from some 3,600 different public libraries across England, in addition to the libraries in other parts of the United Kingdom, the compilation of CIPFA's annual library statistics is clearly a complex and painstaking exercise.

Public Libraries

Lord Harrison: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	What was the cost to a public library per visit for each of the past seven years, given their best value indicator.

Lord McIntosh of Haringey: The table below provides the cost per visit to public libraries in England over the last seven years for which we have figures. We arrived at these figures by dividing expenditure on all library sevices (excluding capital payments and agency services and capital accounting) by the total number of visits (Source: CIPFA annual Public Library Statistics (Actuals).)
	1996–97 £2.08
	1997–98 £2.19
	1998–99 £2.33
	1999–2000 £2.51
	2000–01 £2.65
	2001–02 £2.88
	2002–03 £3.08

Public Libraries

Lord Harrison: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	Which councils' budgetary provisions for public library services have been equal to or below retail price index inflation, itemising percentage changes for the last two years; and whether library services provided by these councils represent value for money.

Lord McIntosh of Haringey: We are not able to provide a breakdown for the 149 individual English library authorities, as this could only be prepared at disproportionate cost. The information, however, could be calculated from the CIPFA Public Library Statistics, which are available in the House Library. Total expenditure on public libraries in England (excluding capital payments & agency services and capital accounting) rose, in cash terms, from £730.7 million in 2000–01 to £845.1 million in 2002–03 (Source: CIPFA Public Library Statistics (Actuals)). This is an increase of 16 per cent compared to the retail prices index increase of 3.4 per cent for this period. Each local authority's performance at achieving value for money is reflected within its comprehensive performance assessment.

Public Libraries

Lord Harrison: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	What are the levels of spending on new book stock in public libraries in each of the following areas (a) Birmingham; (b) Cambridge; (c) Newcastle-upon-Tyne; and (d) Hampshire; and whether they are satisfied with these spending levels.

Lord McIntosh of Haringey: In 2001–02, according to the latest figures available (Source: CIPFA Public Library Statistics (Actuals)), the four authorities identified spent the following on new book stock per 1,000 population: Birmingham £1,535 Cambridgeshire £1,386 Newcastle-upon-Tyne £1,134 Hampshire £1,578
	The Department for Culture, Media and Sport does not assess authorities on the amount of money they spend on books, but the authorities concerned may wish to consider their book purchase provision against the averages for county councils, metropolitan districts and England.

Public Libraries

Lord Harrison: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	Whether the introduction of computer terminals has increased the number of visitors to public libraries and the numbers of books borrowed.

Lord McIntosh of Haringey: The People's Network has linked all but a few of England's public libraries to the Internet. Recently published figures show that visits to public libraries in England in 2002–03 (before the People's Network had been completed) increased to over 274 million, over 3 million more than in the previous year. The People's Network is one of a number of activities that are attracting more and new users, for example, increased reader development activity, but the timing suggests that the People's Network is making a major contribution.
	The number of book issues continues to decline. However, the decrease between 2001–02 and 2002–03 was the smallest in recent years and issues still amount to over 305 million books across libraries in England. There were also over 36 million issues of audio, visual, electronic and other stock.
	Taken in the round, these figures show that public libraries remain a very popular institution.

VAT: EU Rates

Lord Marlesford: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	In respect of each of the 25 member states of the European Union, what is the standard rate of VAT and the minimum level of turnover (expressed in both sterling and euros) at which traders are required to register for VAT.

Lord McIntosh of Haringey: The VAT standard rates and registration thresholds for the EU member states are set out in the following table:
	
		
			  Standard Rate Registration Thresholds 
			 Member State (%) Sterling  
			 Euro equivalent  
			 Belgium 21 £3,721 5,580 
			 Czech Republic 22 £23,345 35,000 
			 Denmark 25 £4,447 6,667 
			 Germany 16 £11,086 16,620 
			 Estonia 18 £10,672 16,000 
			 Greece 18 £6,003 (G) or£2,668 (S) 9000 or 4,000 
			 Spain 16 None None 
			 France 19.6 £50,892 (G) or£18,009 (S) 76,300 or 27,000 
			 Ireland 21 £34,017 (G) or£17,008 (S) 51,000 or 25,500 
			 Italy 20 None None 
			 Cyprus 15 £10,405 15,600 
			 Latvia 18 £11,472 17,200 
			 Lithuania 18 £19,343 29,000 
			 Luxembourg 15 £6,670 10,000 
			 Hungary 25 £23,345 35,000 
			 Malta 15 £24,679 (G)£16,208 (S–highinputs)£9,738 (S–lowinputs) 37,00024,30014,600 
			 Netherlands 19 None None 
			 Austria 20 £14,674 22,000 
			 Poland 22 £6,670 10,000 
			 Portugal 19 £6,654(Non standardaccounting records)£8,317(Simplified regimefor small traders) 9,976 or 12,470 
			 Slovenia 20 £16,675 25,000 
			 Slovak Repubic 19 £23,345 35,000 
			 Finland 22 £5,669 8,500 
			 Sweden 25 None None 
			 UK 17.5 £58,000 86,956 
		
	
	Source:
	Europa Website
	Note:
	Currency conversion rate is 1 euro = £0.667
	(G): Goods
	(S): Services.

Bank Notes

Lord Marlesford: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	On what date the £50 note was first issued after World War II; what value a note with similar purchasing power would now have; and whether they will now issue a £100 note.

Lord McIntosh of Haringey: The Bank reintroduced the £50 note in 1981, following its withdrawal during the Second World War. Adjusting for inflation, the purchasing power of £50 in 1981 would be equivalent to the purchasing power of around £125 today.
	At present there are no plans to introduce a £100 note.

Statistics Commission: Recommendations

Lord Lester of Herne Hill: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	Whether they accept the recommendation by the Statistics Commission in its annual report 2003–04 (Cm 6250) that legislation is needed to strengthen the public trust in official statistics.

Lord McIntosh of Haringey: The Government welcome the publication of the Statistics Commission report, that was commissioned in the June 2000 Framework for National Statistics, which acknowledges the progress made since the launch of the framework.
	The Government look forward to the wide-ranging public debate that the commission's proposals are likely to engender and are discussing the recommendations of the report with the Statistics Commission and National Statistician.

Sports Programmes: Department of Health

Lord Moynihan: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	Further to the Written Answer by the Lord Warner on 29 March (WA 139), which sports bodies have contractual links with the National Health Service to ensure strategic planning and activity levels.

Lord Warner: The Department of Health has a service level agreement with Sport England, England's national sports development agency, to fund and support the local exercise action pilot programme.
	The department is also in the process of concluding a funding agreement with the Federation of Disability Sports Organisations under Section 64 of the Health Services and Public Health Act 1968.
	At a local level, the National Health Service works in partnership with Sport England and the New Opportunities Fund as part of the Active England programme to test out innovative ways of increasing activity levels. Sport action zones also provide an opportunity for local health organisations to work in partnership with sports bodies to bring the benefits of sport and physical activity to deprived communities.
	National governing bodies for sport are in the process of developing a "whole sport" plan for sport, which sets out how the sport will seek to encourage people to start, stay and succeed in that particular discipline. A number of the sports, such as swimming and rowing, are seeking to increase participation levels by working with the health sector.
	The department does not record details of contractual arrangements between local NHS organisations and sports bodies.

Dental Treatment: Pensioners

Lord Hoyle: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	How many pensioners have had free dental treatment in each of the past two years; and what was the cost.

Lord Warner: The number of courses of National Health Service dental treatment provided to men aged 65 years or over and women aged 60 years or over, who did not have to pay a patient charge, is given in the table. The patient charge that would have been payable is also shown.
	
		
			  Number of coursesof treatment Patient charge(£ million) 
			 2002–03 914,400 40.3 
			 2003–04 949,200 41.9 
		
	
	The patient charge accounts for 80 per cent of the total cost of the treatment up to a maximum charge to the patient of £372.

Jarvis Plc

Lord Oakeshott of Seagrove Bay: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	In which private finance initiative and public private partnership projects for the National Health Service Jarvis plc or any of its subsidiaries is:
	(a) the main contractor; and
	(b) a member of a contracting consortium (showing in each case the percentage share of Jarvis plc or its subsidiaries; and
	for each project, what is the contract period and total value.

Lord Warner: The table shows the private finance initiative schemes on which Jarvis is the contractor and/or a shareholder in the contracting consortium's project company with the information on each as requested:
	
		
			 Scheme Involvement of Jarvis Period of Contract (from date of opening) Years Total Value (sum of annual payments by trust over contract period £ million) 
			 Ambulatory Care Centre for Birmingham Hospitals NHS Trust Construction contractor, FM services and 50 per cent shareholder in consortium project company 30 98 (at 2002 prices) 
			  
			 Redevelopment of Whittington Hospital site for Whittington NHS Trust Construction contractor, FM services and 50 per cent shareholder in consortium project company 30 95 (at 2001 prices) 
			  
			 Community Hospital for Newbury PCT Construction contractor and FM services only 30 80 (at 2002 prices) 
		
	
	Information is not held centrally on subcontractors which are not subsidiaries of the prime contractor or shareholders in the project company.

Hearing Aids

Baroness Howe of Idlicote: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	What is the current cost to the National Health Service of each type of digital hearing aid purchased by National Health Service hearing aids services digital scheme.

Lord Warner: There are a number of nationally contracted hearing aid products available to the National Health Service dependent on the specific requirements of patients such as level of hearing loss. The range includes two models of moderate power hearing aids with an average price of just under £70 each including value added tax, five models of higher power hearing aids with an average price at around £150 each including VAT, and a specialised very small child's aid at around £120 including VAT.

Food Supplements

Earl Howe: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	Whether they will publish in the Official Report their response to the European Court of Justice on the case against the Food Supplements Directive and the Food Supplements (England) Regulations 2003 brought by the Health Food Manufacturers Association and the National Association of Health Stores; and whether that response will indicate the possible effects on the specialist health food manufacturing and retailing sector, and its consumers; and
	What are their aims in responding to the European Court of Justice in the case against the Food Supplements Directive and the Food Supplements (England) Regulations 2003 brought by the Health Food Manufacturers Association and the National Association of Health Stores.

Lord Warner: It is the United Kingdom's practice not to disclose pleadings before the European Court of Justice (ECJ). Therefore the Government do not intend to publish in the Official Report their observations in respect of this case.
	In responding to the ECJ, the UK Government's aims are to maintain that Directive 2002/46/EC on food supplements is valid as a matter of EC law.

Badger and Deer Carcasses

Lord Rotherwick: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	How many badger and deer carcasses are collected from the roadside and tested by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs' Wildlife Unit.

Lord Whitty: Since 1 March 2004, when the Wildlife Unit took over collection of badger carcasses from the roadside as part of the road traffic accident survey in Cornwall, Devon, Gloucestershire, Herefordshire, Worcestershire, Shropshire and Dorset, 403 carcasses have been collected, of which 331 have been tested.
	The Wildlife Unit does not collect deer carcasses.

Integrated Administration and Control System: Map Editing

Baroness Byford: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	How many corrections were received in the financial year 2003–04 from landowners or tenants seeking to amend the Integrated Administration and Control System digital maps.

Lord Whitty: The number of edits received from IACS applicants as part of the map editing process for the Rural Land Register data capture exercise during the financial year 2003–04 was 45,586. Each edit may consist of one or more parcels of land to be amended.

Cormorants: Fishery Action Plans

Lord Mason of Barnsley: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	What fisheries action plans have been established between the United Kingdom and neighbouring European Union countries to contain the number of cormorants; with what results; and how the United Kingdom action to control the growth in numbers compares with other European Union countries.

Lord Whitty: Fishery action plans (FAPs) have recently been initiated by the Environment Agency in England and Wales to provide a mechanism for fisheries development at the catchment scale (or wider), with the objective of maximising sustainable development of fisheries and associated ecological, social, economic and recreational benefits. FAPs seek to identify the main issues affecting fisheries, including bird predation, prioritise these and plan appropriate action. Such fishery action plans do not apply in the European Union.
	Cormorants are protected by the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981, which fulfils the UK's obligations under the EC Wild Birds Directive 79/409/EEC to conserve all wild birds. Results from earlier Defra-funded research on the impact of cormorants on inland fisheries support the view that this is a problem for specific fisheries rather than a general problem. Where such site-specific problems exist, licences can be granted to allow limited numbers of birds to be killed or taken as an aid to scaring. However, it must be shown that there is no other satisfactory alternative to the issuing of a licence. Nevertheless, the Government are currently looking into further measures to help resolve their conflict with fisheries.
	Similar provisions apply in many other European Union countries, although there is some variability in the number of birds that are killed. It is not possible to compare the effects of shooting between member states. The numbers of birds killed or taken under licence in each EU country are reported to the Commission annually.

Wind Farms

Lord Tebbit: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	Further to the statement by the Lord Whitty on 23 June (HL Deb, col. 1238) that "In certain circumstances, wind farms actually enhance the landscape", whether they will set out the circumstances in which such enhancement occurs.

Lord Whitty: Increased development of renewable energy resources is vital to facilitating the delivery of the Government's commitments on both climate change and renewable energy.
	We recognise that the location of wind farms can sometimes be a sensitive issue. Our landscapes have always been influenced by ever-changing human activity. Buildings and other structures—including, for example, traditional windmills and monuments—have often been seen as enhancing the landscape and providing a point of interest. In some settings wind farms will be seen by many as aesthetically pleasing; in other less so.
	That is why the Government have ensured that there is clear guidance for planning authorities to follow. Planning Policy Guidance Note 22: Renewable Energy makes clear that local planning authorities should always assess and judge the merits of a planning application on a site-specific basis, including consideration of impacts on the landscape. The consultation paper for the forthcoming PPS22 reinforced these elements.
	In the future, offshore wind will be an increasingly significant element in the energy supply mix and will help address concerns about the impact of wind farms on the landscape.

Vehicle Emissions: Environmental Impacts

Lord Stoddart of Swindon: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	What are their most recent estimates of the impact of vehicle emissions on the environment and of the damage which they cause to property.

Lord Whitty: Estimates for the environmental benefits of existing and additional measures including road transport measures proposed in the review of the national air quality strategy were published in January 1999 in An economic analysis of the National Air Quality Strategy Objectives: An Interim Report.
	This is available at: www.defra.gov.uk/environment/airquality/nags/ea.
	The non-health impacts of vehicle emissions will vary from place to place and pollutant to pollutant. For instance, road transport makes a significant contribution to urban concentrations of oxides of nitrogen (NOx), varying between 70 and 90 per cent of annual mean concentrations at roadside locations and 50 to 71 per cent of NOx concentrations at urban background locations. These emissions will contribute to adverse effects on buildings, materials, terrestrial ecosystems, such as crops and forest, aquatic ecosystems and visibility, but the impacts have not been explicitly calculated. It should also be noted that it is very difficult to place an economic value on some of these impacts.
	Defra has commissioned a study to evaluate the Air Quality Strategy 2000 by assessing the effectiveness of selected air quality policies in the transport and electricity supply sectors, in terms of improvements to air quality and consequent health and other environmental benefits. The results are expected to be published in autumn 2004.

Heathland

Lord Fearn: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	How many areas in England are designated as heathland; and how many heathlands have been lost in the past 10 years.

Lord Whitty: Over 217,000 hectares of land in England are designated as sites of special scientific interest for heathland features, of which 179,000 ha is upland heathland, and over 38,000 ha is lowland heathland. The Countryside Survey 2000, covering the period 1990–98, reported no significant change to the "dwarf shrub heath" broad habitat area 1 . 1 The Countryside Survey 2000. Accounting for Nature: assessing habitats in the UK Countryside, R. H. Haines-Young et al (2000). www.c2000.org.uk

Livestock Identification and Tracing Programme

Baroness Byford: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	When the new livestock identification and tracing programme will be in place.

Lord Whitty: The introduction of a single livestock register for registering and recording movements of cattle, sheep, pigs, goats and deer is the key component of Defra's Livestock Identification and Tracing Programme. We are planning for delivery of the register by late 2006–07 but the project is still being scoped and is highly dependent on the progress of other related IT projects.

Dairy Supply Chain

Baroness Byford: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	Whether they plan to improve transparency in the dairy supply chain; and, if so, how they will seek to do so.

Lord Whitty: The Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Committee, in its report Milk Pricing in the United Kingdom, recommended that the Dairy Supply Chain Forum look at ways of improving transparency. It is on the agenda for discussion at the Forum's next meeting on 21 July.
	Defra has made a grant of nearly £0.5 million for the Food Chain Centre's work to improve efficiency in the dairy supply chain. Its work on value chain analysis in the dairy sector could be helpful in improving transparency, since it should not only help participants understand the costs of others in their supply chain, but also help them work together to eliminate cost and improve margin for mutual benefit.

Livestock Movements

Baroness Byford: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	Whether there have been anomalies in the reporting of livestock movements; and, if so, whether they propose to make markets responsible for reporting all relevant movements.

Lord Whitty: Movement anomalies are unavoidable as there are inevitable delays in updating any database as well as occasional mistakes in the information reported by keepers. Markets are already responsible for reporting all individual cattle movements and all batch movements of pigs, sheep and goats. Movement notifications are recorded on a central database.
	Defra is working to encourage market operators to use electronic data transfer and developing on-line systems to increase the speed and accuracy of livestock movement reporting.

Endangered Species: Imports to EU

Lord Rotherwick: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	Further to the Written Answer by the Lord Whitty on 5 July (WA 68), what prosecutions occurred in the European Union in 2003 in respect of imports under the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora Regulations.

Lord Whitty: The department does not record details of prosecutions under CITES that occurred in the European Union.